


Shine

by neversaydie



Series: cock it and pull it [20]
Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Bisexual Ben, Coming Out, F/M, Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Post-Canon, Pride, baby's first pride, grey-ace sammy, jack is really into star wars I don't make the rules, ron begley is the gay uncle we all deserve, sammy gets used to being out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 14:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14046396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neversaydie/pseuds/neversaydie
Summary: It's not a flashy affair, more of a cookout than a parade, but Ron's dock is decked out in rainbow bunting and there are cheesy tunes blaring from a speaker inside the Bait and Tackle - as the man himself flips burgers in nothing but his daisy dukes and a rainbow flag tied around his shoulders like a cape.He is, quite literally, the hero they deserve.Sammy watches from a distance, leaning against the side of the shop and nursing a beer as the party unfolds. There's already talk of repeating the event next year, getting some local sponsorship and making it bigger and better.It's… nice. Weird, but nice.[in which Pride makes it to King Falls, and Sammy gets used to being out and proud.]





	Shine

**Author's Note:**

> recommend Shine by Years and Years, which is giving me a very Jack and Sammy vibe here.

"I dunno, you give me more of a Rey vibe," Jack leans forward in his chair, challenging Sammy to take the bait… which, of course, he does.

"I am _not_ a rowdy sand lesbian!"

"Let's be honest, Emily is the only competent one among us. She'd be Rey."

"I could be Poe Dameron," Sammy suggests, scowling when Jack immediately laughs.

"Only because he's ambiguously gay and _thirsty as hell_."

"I couldn't be less-"

"Nah, you're a hundred percent Han Solo," Ben cuts into the bickering, because apparently Jack has got _really_ into the new Star Wars movies after being completely baffled by their existence when he first re-entered the world, and Sammy is _so done_ with this debate. "You used to be cool once, but now you're old and the kids are on some bullshit you don't understand and you just want everyone to chill for like, five minutes."

"I'm not that old! And come on, man, bleeper," Sammy glares at Jack, who is _of course_ losing his shit off-mic at this assessment. "I dunno what you're laughing at, buddy. That makes _you_ Princess Leia."

"With those buns? I know what I'm dressing up as for Halloween this year," Jack wiggles his eyebrows and Sammy covers his eyes, put upon and disgustingly charmed regardless. It's been a great week (Jack hasn't had an absence since Sunday, and part of Sammy can't help hoping that it's the start of them tapering off for good), and he's just stupidly in love with his very annoying boyfriend right now. "Or Pride, oh my god. Do you guys do Pride in King Falls?"

The pause isn't uncomfortable, it's more that Sammy is leaving the floor open to Ben… as the town native and, weirdly, the only one of them still in the closet. Sort of. Anyway, it seems polite to let the guy with the most at stake answer the question - it's totally nothing to do with the fact Sammy still isn't good at this whole being publicly queer thing, not at all.

Jack is just so… relaxed about being himself. Sammy's not sure he'll ever get there.

"Nope, I don't think we've ever had Pride here. Like a parade or whatever, I mean," Ben takes it like a champ, as always, and hesitates for a second before ploughing on with his usual 'ask questions later' mentality. "I guess people don't think there are enough of, uh, us."

How Ben manages to be braver with one syllable than Sammy's ever been in his entire life, he'll never understand. He might actually be a little choked up about it, not that he'll let anyone hear that.

"That's a freaking tragedy, man. You'd get all kinds of tourists if you put on an event and advertised the scenery, it's beautiful up here," Jack muses, chin resting on his hand. He's starting to get tired, unused to the show's late night/early morning schedule since he only rarely guests, and Sammy would put money on him being asleep on the break room couch before their next ad break.

"Because I'm sure a small town whose residents include _Gwendolyn the Racist Witch_ is an ideal destination for minority tourists," Sammy snarks, trying to get them off the subject instinctively. Jack shoots him a look like he knows exactly what he's doing, and Sammy reels himself in when he realises in turn. Sometimes it's hard to unlearn a lifetime of trying to avoid certain subjects, but he's trying. "Not that the majority of King Falls residents aren't wonderful, tolerant folks who welcome people of all stripes with open arms."

"Never had a minute's trouble," Jack agrees. "And I mean, you actually _came out_ here, so it must have-"

"Sammy didn't exactly-" Ben gets cut off by the phone, thank god, and Sammy chooses to ignore the fact both his co-hosts are shooting him confused looks when he answers it… probably too fast.

He's _not_ having that conversation on the air - or at all, if he can avoid it.

"You're live with Sammy and Ben, along with special guest Princess Leia," Sammy smirks when Jack gives him the finger at the introduction, secretly relieved because he's hopefully distracted from the whole _didn't exactly come out voluntarily_ thing. "Who are we talking to on this balmy King Falls evening?"

"Boys," Ron's familiar drawl fills the studio, and Sammy puts his head in his hands because he just knows what's coming. Of course. The universe just _loves_ to fuck with him. "Do I got a hell of a proposition for you."

 

 

It's not a flashy affair, more of a cookout than a parade, but Ron's dock is decked out in rainbow bunting and there are cheesy tunes blaring from a speaker inside the Bait and Tackle - as the man himself flips burgers in nothing but his daisy dukes and a rainbow flag tied around his shoulders like a cape.

He is, quite literally, the hero they deserve.

Sammy watches from a distance, leaning against the side of the shop and nursing a beer - just the one - as the party unfolds. He's surprised by the turnout, as the whole thing has taken on a family atmosphere with boats in the water, face painting (courtesy of Emily, who raided the library's World Book Day supplies for the occasion), and some unexpected guests (even Cynthia Higgenbaum made an appearance, which they were all somewhat taken aback by). There's already talk of repeating the event next year, getting some local sponsorship and making it bigger and better.

It's… nice. Weird, but nice. Not what he expected his first Pride to be like (and really, he'd never expected to go to Pride at all), but good.

"Hey, you okay?" Jack stops by to check in because, as he pointed out this morning when Sammy narrowly skirted skipping this shindig altogether in a moment of anxiety, a party with a whole lot of open queerness involved is practically Sammy's worst nightmare… or it used to be, anyway.

"Yeah," Sammy finds himself smiling, as Ben whoops about something in the background (he'd shown up in a too-small t-shirt in the bi flag colours, which is about as subtle as he gets) and Emily's musical laugh cuts through the din of music and voices. "I'm good."

With a slightly misshapen rainbow heart painted on one cheek, a smear of glitter on the other, and a tipsy grin, Jack finally looks like himself again. He's older and a little sharper than the guy in Sammy's memories, but he's also more open, more solid, and today he shines with an intangible quality - a _life_ \- that Sammy can't believe he's lucky enough to call his own.

He feels… kind of proud, actually.

Without thinking, as if needing to prove he's not some kind of beautiful hallucination, Sammy cups Jack's cheek and pulls him in for a kiss - right there in the sunshine where anyone can see. Someone - fucking Ben, probably - wolf whistles behind them, and Sammy happily flips the bird in their general direction without bothering to look over. He's done his goddamn time with fear, and if he wants to kiss his boyfriend in front of their friends... then his brain is just going to have to get over itself and deal with it.

"Hey," Jack rests their foreheads together when they break apart after the brief kiss (because Sammy is still him and… baby steps). "I'm proud of you."

"Me too, I think," Sammy laughs softly, still a little nervous but starting to settle into things, and Jack squeezes his hand before straightening up and pulling him in the direction of Emily's table.

"C'mon, you need face paint."

"I _really_ don't," Sammy lets himself be dragged along regardless, because he'd give Jack the fucking moon right now if it kept him smiling like that. The whole afternoon feels like a sunny daydream… one that Sammy really isn't inclined to wake up from.

If only he could go back and tell that scared kid - curled up in bed and wondering if death was better than fear, drinking himself to sleep, hiding from the world - that he was brave enough, and about how wonderful life would turn out to be.

**Author's Note:**

> holy shit there are 20 instalments and over 30k words in this series now, how did that happen? thanks for being along for the ride so far folks!


End file.
